Groups of protest road and houses to raise awareness, while solar farm protests mount campaign

On Saturday, more than 150 protesters, alongside North Wiltshire MP James Gray, rallied against the plans to build a distributor road linking the A350 and the 7,500 extra houses it would pave the way for.

Mr Gray said they must stop the “desecration of the countryside”.

Steve Perry, chairman of CAUSE, the Campaign Against Urban Sprawl to the East (of Chippenham), accused Wiltshire Council of predetermination with the plans, which will be up for consultation next year.

He also claimed the local authority was misleading people by saying the road and resultant houses were to meet Chippenham’s housing needs.

“There’s no justification for the increase in house numbers,” he said.

Mr Perry said Chippenham was chosen for the plans because of its connection to the M4 and its mainline train station, both of which he says encourage long-distance commuting and go against the council’s Climate Emergency declaration.

Plans to build the distributor road linking the A350 at the north and south ends of the town were given a conditional grant by government body Homes for England last year.

Philip Whitehead, leader of the council, said: “We have not been misleading the public. We have said that our bid for funding identified the opportunity to provide 7,500 homes up to 2046 and 1 million sq ft of commercial development at Chippenham.

"The level of growth and the number of new homes required to meet housing need at Chippenham and indeed elsewhere in the county is considered through the separate Wiltshire Local Plan review process.

"The number of new homes proposed in the Local Plan Review, which covers a period up to 2036, are within the 7,500 identified by the bid and people will be able to comment on these proposals early in the new year.

“Any new road will only be built if planning is granted and it would provide the infrastructure for development to proceed.

"The £75m government funding will be available to contribute towards this cost.

"We had originally planned to consult with the public on the road route options in Spring this year, but unfortunately this had to be delayed because of Covid-19. This consultation will now take place in January.

“Webpages explaining more about the project, which will include a copy of the bid to government seeking funding, will go live before Christmas.

“The plans have not been predetermined and we would encourage everyone to take part in the consultations early next year to give their views on the proposals.”

Other campaigners who love the countryside and want to protect Chippenham have banded together to fight plans for a 200-acre solar farm at Derry Hill and Forest Gate.

The site is on land owned by Lord Landsdowne, Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice, who also owns Bowood House.

“If you add the solar farm and the new road development, then the whole area will be redefined. It’s no longer villages, green space and woodlands as Chippenham will now merge with Derry Hill and is rapidly encroaching towards Calne,” said solar farm protester Neil Beedie.

He has collected hundreds of residents bordering the planned site to sign a petition opposing it.

“It’s almost as though it’s the Wild West and the developers are doing grabs on whatever fields become available,” he added, echoing calls made by the countryside charity CPRE for a county-wide planning strategy.

“The worst thing about the council’s policy for zero carbon emissions is the loss of green space because of these kind of planning decisions.

“The best way for that would be to replant Pewsham Forest, rather than build a solar farm.”

The development, proposed by Wiltshire-based Eden Renewables, could be up and running by 2022 if the plans are approved by Wiltshire Council.

During an online webinar, company boss Harry Lopes, the Duchess of Cornwall’s son-in-law, who has a reported personal net worth of around $20m, explained why he wants to build on greenbelt land and not brownfield sites.

The answer revolved around money. He said: “This is a question that comes up often and I can only be extremely sympathetic with it. We would love all solar and windfarms to be built on brownfield. But brownfield is expensive ground because it has development value for residential or commercial projects, solar farms cannot come close to competing in terms of purchasing the land or renting the land. “It’s not economically viable.”

Eden Renewables said it carried out extensive consultation with residents near the solar farm site and that there was a lot more support than opposition.

A spokesman for the company said: “The site can be screened from most viewpoints and brings great biodiversity and community benefits including an annual community fund of £17,500, new footpaths and a cycle way.

“Many people understand There is an urgent need to generate more renewable power and as the solar farm is temporary and reversible it will help to protect the land between Chippenham and Derry Hill from more housing or other commercial development.”